| Zainichi Korean | |
| Familycolor: | altaic |
| Nativename: | Korean: 재일조선어 |
| Pronunciation: | pronounced as /ko/ |
| States: | Japan |
| Ethnicity: | Zainichi Koreans |
| Fam1: | Koreanic |
| Fam2: | Korean |
| Ancestor: | Old Korean |
| Ancestor2: | Middle Korean |
| Ancestor3: | Modern Korean |
| Script: | Hangul |
| Isoexception: | dialect |
| Ietf: | ko-JP |
| Imagealt: | Entrance to a mult-storey building. There is a wood statue with an anthropomorphic head at each side of the door. |
Zainichi Korean is a variety of Korean as spoken by Zainichi Koreans (ethnic Korean citizens or residents of Japan). The speech is based on the southern dialects of Korean, as the majority of first-generation immigrants came from the southern part of the peninsula, including Gyeonggi-do, Jeolla-do and Jeju-do.
Due to isolation from other Korean speech-communities and the influence of Japanese, Zainichi Korean language exhibits strong differences from the standard Korean of either North or South Korea.
The majority of Zainichi Koreans use Japanese in their everyday speech, even among themselves. The Korean language is used only in a limited number of social contexts: towards first-generation immigrants, as well as in Chosŏn Hakkyo, (or ; Japanese: 朝鮮学校, "Korean School"), pro-Pyongyang ethnic schools supported by Chongryon.
Since most Zainichi Koreans learn Korean as their second language, they tend to speak it with a heavy Japanese accent. This variety of speech is called Zainichi Korean language, a name which, even when used by Zainichi Koreans themselves, often carries a critical connotation.[1]
While Standard Korean distinguishes eight vowels, Zainichi Korean distinguishes only five, as in Japanese.
| Vowel jamo | Korean: ㅏ | Korean: ㅓ | Korean: ㅗ | Korean: ㅜ | Korean: ㅡ | Korean: ㅣ | Korean: ㅐ | Korean: ㅔ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Korean | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Zainichi Korean | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
In syllable-initial position, standard Korean distinguishes among plain, aspirated, and tense consonants, such as pronounced as //k//, pronounced as //kʰ//, and pronounced as //k͈//. Zainichi Korean, on the other hand, distinguishes only between unvoiced and voiced consonants (pronounced as //k// and pronounced as //ɡ//), as in Japanese.
| Standard Korean | Zainichi Korean | |
|---|---|---|
| Beginning of a word | Elsewhere | |
| Plain pronounced as //k// | Unvoiced pronounced as //k// or voiced pronounced as //ɡ//, depending on speakers | |
| Aspirate pronounced as //kʰ// | Unvoiced pronounced as //k// | Geminated unvoiced pronounced as //kː// |
| Tense pronounced as //k͈// | ||
There are no geminates after nasal consonants. Thus Korean: 앉자, pronounced as //ant͡ɕ͈a// in Standard, becomes pronounced as //ant͡ɕa//, not pronounced as //ant͡ɕːa//.
As in the North Korean standard, initial pronounced as //ɾ// or pronounced as //n// never change their values. Korean: 역사 pronounced as //jəks͈a// in South Korea is Korean: 력사 pronounced as //ɾjəks͈a// in North Korea, or pronounced as //ɾjosːa// among Zainichi Koreans.
Seven consonants occur in the final position of Standard Korean syllables, namely pronounced as //p//, pronounced as //t//, pronounced as //k//, pronounced as //m//, pronounced as //n//, pronounced as //ŋ//, and pronounced as //ɾ//. In Zainichi Korean those sounds are treated differently.
| Standard Korean | Zainichi Korean |
|---|---|
| Plosives (pronounced as //p//, pronounced as //t//, and pronounced as //k//) | Followed by geminated consonants (i.e. pronounced as //ɾjok// followed by pronounced as //sa// becomes pronounced as //ɾjosːa//) |
| Nasals (pronounced as //m//, pronounced as //n//, and pronounced as //ŋ//) | pronounced as //ɴ// (as in Japanese) |
| Flap (pronounced as //ɾ//) | pronounced as //ɾ// |
Zainichi Korean grammar also shows influence from Japanese.
Some particles are used differently from the Standard Korean. For instance, "to ride a car" is expressed as (Korean: 차를 탄다) in standard Korean, which can be interpreted as "car-(direct object) ride". In Zainichi Korean, the same idea is expressed as (Korean: 차에 탄다; "car-into ride"), just like Japanese (Japanese: 車に乗る).
Standard Korean distinguishes (Korean: 해 있다, referring to a continuous state) and (Korean: 하고 있다, referring to a continuous action). For instance, "to be sitting" is (Korean: 앉아 있다), not ' (Korean: 앉고 있다), as the latter would mean "being in the middle of the action of sitting, but has not completed the action yet". Zainichi Korean, however, does not distinguish these two, as Japanese does not either; it uses form for both continuous state and continuous action.
Zainichi Korean is not typically written; standard Korean is used as the literary language. For example, a speaker who pronounces the word (Korean: 그러나; "however") as (Korean: 구로나), will still spell the word in the former form. In much the same way, Standard Korean speakers retain the grapheme difference between Korean: ㅐ and Korean: ㅔ, even though they may pronounce the two identically.